Can opener



June 1957 J. s. CROWDER 2,797,020

CAN OPENER Filed March 4, 1953 I'LL g. 5

' IN VEN TOR. d ss 6.- 6'20 WDER ATT RNEYS Br m 1 A MEMBER qr THE -v Unite Sts CAN OPENER Jess S. Crowder, Sharps Park, Calif.

Application March 4, 1953, Serial No. 340,238

2 Claims. (Cl. 22052) This invention relates to a strip guide for use with a key employed in opening vacuum sealed containers.

In opening a container of the type wherein a portion of the wall is torn away and wound upon itself, a key is generally employed to engage a preformed tab or tongue and which, upon winding, removes a narrow strip of the container wall about the periphery of the container, enabling ready access to be gained to the contents. In the case of metal containers such as cans and the like, a metallic strip is coiled upon itself by the winding action of the key. Due to the substantial resiliency of the metal, it is difiicult to maintain the so-wound coil in true spiral form with the edges aligned. When the edges of the coil are not in alignment, they are hazardous in that the sharpness may inflict injury on a person opening the container.

Also, when the windings do not fall one upon the other as the spiral is formed, the metallic strip is subject to twisting and possible breakage which may result in only a partial opening of the container.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a strip guide which, in cooperation with a key type of container opener, enables the tear strip to be wound upon itself in a true spiral with the edges of the wound strip in alignment.

Tear strip keys of the type with which the present invention are concerned are usually mounted upon and attached to a container as it moves in trade, being removed therefrom for subsequent utilization in opening the container by breaking a frangible attachment to the container. The strip guide of the present invention is adapted to be mounted in position upon such a key, to be utilized upon release of the key from the container. Guides for tear strips have previously been proposed, but none of these has been suited for attachment to the container with the tear strip key.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a guide for use with a tear strip key which can be attached with the key to the container.

The invention includes other objects and features of advantage, some of which, together with the foregoing, will appear hereinafter wherein the present preferred form of tear strip key of this invention is disclosed. In the drawing accompanying and forming a part hereof,

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the tear strip and guide of this invention in position on a container.

Figure 2 is a plan view of a can having the tear strip and guide of this invention positioned prior to use and as the can moves in the channels of trade.

Figure 3 is a side elevation showing the guide assembled on the key prior to use.

Referring to the drawings, a typical can is indicated at 6, having an end closure 7 which can be removed upon tearing and withdrawal of the winding strip 9. A typical winding key is indicated at 10, this including a finger grip portion 11 and a stem 12 having a slot'13 therein in which the tab or projection on the winding strip is inserted prior to winding. The end of the stem 12 is usually aflixed to the can end closure 7 as by a drop of solder 14.

In accordance with this invention, there is afixed to the stem 12 of key 10 a winding guide frame, generally indicated at 15. In the form shown, the frame is rectangular in outline and is made up by bending a length of wire upon itself to include two opposite legs 15 and 17, each of which includes a loop 18 extending about the stem 12 on each side of the slotted portion 13. The wire-like member utilized to provide the frame 15 is preferably of a size in cross-section comparable to that of the key, to enable the frame to lie flat against the can closure and not interfere with stacking or packing of the cans so equipped. The frame can be made of Wire or plastic; it need not be rectangular but legs 16 and '17 should be secured to one another at each end and should be of a length to permit winding of the tear strip.

With the winding strip in position on the key, the tear strip winds readily into a spiral form with one convolution following upon the next, enabling a continuous band to be torn from about the periphery of the can, thus facilitating the opening of a can. Since the guide frame is made of a wire-like member, it adds little expense to the equipping of each can with a separate guide. Inasmuch as the guide is of a size comparable to that of a key, the entire structure can be secured in place to rest snugly against a face of a can closure with the guide and key extending the same distance above the face.

I claim:

1. In combination with a tear strip key having a winding stem and a finger grip, a strip winding guide comprising a single Wire member bent upon itself and formed into a substantially rectangular closed frame having a pair of parallel spaced side members arcuately curved in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the rectangular, the axis of the key winding stem being rotatably mounted on the concave side of said side members intermediate their ends so that one-half of the rectangular frame lies on one side of the stem and the other half of the frame lies on the other side of the stem, the wire member being of a cross-sectional size approximating that of the stem to enable the frame to rest against and extend along a can at the same elevation as the key.

2. In combination with a tear strip key having a winding stem and finger grip, a strip winding guide comprising a single wire bent into a substantially rectangular closed frame having a pair of substantially parallel spaced side members extending in a substantially common plane and substantially at right angles to the stem of the key, each of said side members, at its midpoint being coiled about the key stem so that one half of the rectangular frame lies on one side of the stem and the oher half of said frame lies on the other side of the stem, the coiled portions of said side members forming aligned bearings in which the key is rotatably mounted, said key having a tear strip receiving slot in that portion of the stem between the said spaced side members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 408,834 Finney Aug. 13, 1889 786,463 Rath et a1 Apr. 4,1905 1,911,613 Epstein May 30, 1933 2,612,287 SnOOk Sept. 30, 1952 

